You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (March 2009) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Debdou]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Debdou}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

33°59′N 3°03′W / 33.983°N 3.050°W / 33.983; -3.050

Debdou دبدو
Debdou view from Kasbah
Debdou Location in Morocco Show map of Morocco Debdou Debdou (Africa) Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 33°59′N 3°3′W / 33.983°N 3.050°W / 33.983; -3.050
Country	Morocco
Region	Oriental
Province	Taourirt Province
Population  (2004)
• Total	4,596
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (WEST)

Debdou (Arabic: دبدو) is a town in Taourirt Province in eastern Morocco. It is known for its historically multi-ethnic population, including Berbers and Moroccan Jews.

The Ait Urtajjen, a Berber family related to the Moroccan dynasty of the Wattasids, had their own semi-independent state here from 1430 until 1563.

Debdou was a major Jewish centre in Morocco. The town was settled by many Sephardic Jews from Seville, fleeing the wave of anti-Jewish riots in Spain in 1391. The earliest to settle were the clan of Cohen-Scali-Benzhor who reached Debdou in the 11th century, fleeing Sicily, a family of Jewish priests said to trace their lineage to Zadok, the High Priest.^[1]

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century the town was briefly renowned as a centre of Jewish learning, exporting rabbis to many cities in Morocco.

At the end of the 19th century the town's population was estimated at 2000 inhabitants, most of them Jews.

At the beginning of the 20th century the number of Jews was estimated at 1600, who formed roughly a third of the population.

Following the establishment of the French protectorate, with the concomitant rise in security, the majority of the Jewish population gradually emigrated to nearby towns in the plains.

• 
  Former Marinid cemetery.
• 
  The door of the typical Jewish house.
• 
  Former Marinid kasbah.
• 
  Typical street in Debdou.

• (in French) C. El Briga, « Debdou », Encyclopédie berbère, vol.15, Edisud 1995, p. 2254-2255

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